The country was given the assurance that the forgotten Empire Theatre and the politically condemned St John Polyclinic are in for some much needed funding and technical assistance. The trip to date has further realised support for the Constituency Councils and a technical and vocational school as part as the educational reform agenda of our country.

There can be no doubt that the Prime Minister's visit to China has further enhanced the lives of thousands of ordinary Barbadians. A number of rural constituencies will benefit from an ultra-modern health care facility.

The long neglected health care facility in the country environs will add much to the relief of those in the rural areas. The tyranny of the majority as practised by the Barbados Labour Party on the people of this country has come to an end. The ease with which the former Government abandoned the provision of adequate health care is unforgivable.

The closure and the decimation of the top-class medical facility in the form of the St Joseph Hospital, along with the mass exodus of nurses from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, were among elements of the pitiful legacy of the Arthur Administration. The failure to find solutions while manufacturing excuses was the hallmark of their tenure in office. This new Government, with its able-bodied team of policymakers and a hard-working civil service, intends to deliver on the goods and services.

The minister's introduction of a new management concept at the hospital was yet another decisive step in the process of reform. The lack of understanding of what it takes to rescue our health care system continues to baffle the Barbados Labour Party even while in Opposition.

The attempts by the doomsday preachers to give the public the impression that some draconian measure had been imposed by the minister fell flat. Minister Estwick's move to reposition the board comes against the background of understanding what it will take to manage the complexities of such a dynamic institution.

The identification of specific skills and human resource inputs is critical elements in moving the process of reform forward. Tuesday's debate in the House of Assembly on the amendment to the schedule to alter the hospital board was a very uncooperative display of partisanship over national interest. We have been consistent in our calls for special attention to be paid to the human resource aspect of the hospital agenda.

The Opposition's lack of understanding on matters of national development is a clear characteristic that binds its members. The absence of its previous stranglehold on the state-owned media has now exposed the political ineptness that guided the previous administration while in government for the last two decades. We intend to give disclosures at every juncture about the hindrances to our development agenda as authored by the former administration.

The Thompson administration is aware of the dynamics in setting up the development path for our nation. We will, as promised, place people at the centre of the development agenda.